Monday, December 3, 2007

Man charged in nightclub shootings

P-I STAFF

A 21-year-old man, whom police identified in part through photographs on MySpace.com, has been charged with three counts of assault stemming from last month's shooting at Capitol Hill's Sugar nightclub.

Michael Anthony Bassett is accused of shooting three people inside the club at 916 E. Pike St. on Nov. 19, critically wounding one with a shot to the abdomen.

The club's owner shuttered Sugar, which was under scrutiny for rowdiness and faced a liquor license suspension for allowing minors into the club, the next day.

Witnesses told police that Bassett walked up behind victim Keith Russell and pushed him out on the dance floor, according to court documents.

Russell tried to break free, then witnesses saw muzzle flashes and heard gunshots. Russell was shot at least twice, a woman on the dance floor was hit in the leg and another man was struck in the wrist, according to police documents.

Bassett, an unemployed registered sex offender staying with his girlfriend near Puyallup, told police that he was at the club but denied any involvement in the shooting, documents say.